These are in addition to the briefings by respected government speakers from both the NSW and National arenas.

And of course, there will be plenty of time network and enjoy the social aspects of the event including happy hours, a welcome reception, Friday night Blue Ribbon Surf & Turf dinner and entertainment, Saturday night National Sponsors Dinner and entertainment, the auction of a new Kenworth T610SAR courtesy of Brown & Hurley Coffs Harbour and a golf gala.

So why not grab your thongs, your partner, pack a few clothes and get ready to mix a little work with a lot of pleasure!

Enjoy the sand between your toes, the ocean at your doorstep and leave the rest up to us for a few days!

STAYOUT OF THE WAY, TRUCKING INDUSTRY WARNS PIG PROTESTERS

Activists planning to join the pig protest next week should stay safe and out of the way of the industry’s trucks.

The Chair of the Australian Trucking Association, Geoff Crouch, and the President of the Australian Livestock Transporters’ Association, Kevin Keenan, issued the warning today.

Vegan activists are set to protest outside a pig processing plant in Victoria for five days next week.
Mr Crouch said that protesters should stay well away from livestock trucks to keep themselves safe.

“Heavy vehicles have blind spots immediately behind the trailer, immediately in front of the bonnet and to the left and right of the doors,” Mr Crouch said.

“Protesters need to stay out of these blind spots and away from our equipment for their own safety.”

He said that protesters should remember that the industry’s professional drivers were subject to tight fatigue controls.

“In the run up to Christmas, our hard-working professional drivers do not have the luxury of taking time off to protest. They are hard at work and have to comply with the NHVR’s fatigue requirements.

“Even a short delay in getting to their destination could mean that they have to spend another night away from home and their families because they are out of work hours.”

Mr Keenan said that the livestock sector took a proactive approach to safeguarding animal welfare and now has an end-to-end system in place.

“Caring for live cargoes is a unique part of the rural road transport task that is under constant scrutiny by markets, governments and the community,” Mr Keenan said.

“During the past three years, our National Animal Welfare Committee has examined our role in the supply chain and championed several important new initiatives. For example, we have published national guidelines on the safe design of ramps and forcing yards, conducted a thorough review of the TruckSafe Animal Welfare Module and established LivestockASSIST – a 24hr national hotline dedicated to coordinating emergency responses.”

“On top of that, all supply chain parties must adhere to the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Land Transport of Livestock and we have taken a strong stance to support mandatory application of electronic stability control on new trucks and trailers to reduce on-road risks.”

“Our sector now has a holistic approach to promoting positive animal welfare outcomes that commences with vehicle selection, livestock preparation, through loading, transport, unloading and emergency responses in the rare event that things go wrong.”

“We are proud of who we are and what we do. We expect our member operators to uphold the highest possible animal welfare standards at all times.”

“Unfortunately, some individuals with a philosophical opposition to meat production would rather ignore the positive action being taken by industry.”

“Climbing on trucks, yelling and shining bright TV lights is not only unsafe but is also incredibly stressful for the animals.”

“If the activists must, I urge them to protest peacefully and at least have some regard for their own safety, the safety of our drivers and the immediate welfare of the animals,” he said.

The ALRTA National Animal Welfare Policy can be downloaded from the ALRTA website: www.alrta.org.au

SEVEREWEATHER ALERT

On 22 November 2017, our National Sponsor NTI issued a media article urging proactive planning for the storm season. The article outlines prudent steps that your business can take to plan for protecting your people, premises and equipment.

Well, NTI’s timing couldn’t be better with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issuing a severe weather alert for eastern Australia for this weekend. Significant and widespread thunderstorm and flooding events are predicted with localised falls of up to 300mm possible.

Now might be a good time to check out the NTI tips and put a plan in place for your business.

MANDATORYPIG MOVEMENT REPORTING

New legislation that will come into effect from 1 February 2018 will mean drivers must play their role to ensure pigs can be traced quickly in the event of an emergency disease outbreak.

The rules require truck drivers to ensure all pigs they transport are identified with a tattoo or an approved pig tag and are accompanied by a PigPass National Vendor Declaration (PigPass NVD) unless exempted by a state government issued permit – a valid copy of which must be carried by the driver. In addition, Australian Pork Limited is urging drivers to complete Part D of the PigPass NVD before handing the document to a pig receiver. A receiver could be a producer, saleyard operator, agent or abattoir. Failure to complete this step could result in state and territory governments taking compliance action.

ALRTA and TruckSafe urges you to schedule a toolbox talk with your drivers about this new requirement.

ALRTAMEETS CHESTER ADVISER

The ALRTA Executive Director met with a new Adviser to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport (Darren Chester) at Australian Parliament House. There have been several changes in the Minister’s Office recently following the departure of a staff member and a temporary transition of responsibilities from the Regional Development Portfolio following the disqualification of former Minister Nash.

In some ways this is quite convenient for the ALRTA given our strong interest in the infrastructure, transport and regional development portfolios. This meeting was a great opportunity to keep our interests on the map while the transition is underway.

PROGRESSON EFFLUENT INFRASTRUCTURE

The ALRTA is making great progress on our quest to establish Australia’s first roadside effluent disposal facility in South East Queensland.

After a series of face-to-face meetings over 2017, we have secured strong support from more than 30 key stakeholders in the supply chain (producers, transporters and processors), community advocates and local, state and federal governments. Importantly, in cooperation with QLD Transport and Main Roads, we have identified a preferred site on the Warrego Highway in the Lockyer Valley with a construction target of December 2018.

This week, our office obtained critical data from the CSIRO’s ‘TraNSIT’ strategic investment tool relating to the number of semi-trailer equivalent cattle movements past the preferred site. This information has enabled us to calculate that, if constructed, the site will prevent up to 2,500,000 litres of livestock effluent from escaping into the road corridor every year.

We are now preparing a formal funding submission and liaising with potential commercial partners who are interested in removing and processing the effluent as part of their business operations.

HAY SALEYARDS

The ALRTA, LBRCA and LRTAV have jointly written to management of the Hay Saleyards outlining our concerns about certain practices and infrastructure. Hay associated agents (Elders and Landmark) have acknowledged our concerns and will meet this week to consider each of the issues raised.

FATIGUERESEARCH PROJECT

The $828,000 project is a collaborative effort between NTC, NHVR, Cooperative Research Centre for Alertness, Safety and Productivity, universities and industry. The aim of the research is to assess the current fatigue framework with a particular focus on the increased risk (if any) of nose-to-tail shifts.

The meeting was focused on managing project risks and refining phase 1 research methodology.

NATIONAL-STATESECRETARIATS

The ALRTA National & State Secretariats met via teleconference this week. These meetings are a great way for our family of associations to share information at an operational level. We are currently focussed on the development of a national database, improving data exchange and processes around sponsor arrangements.

FMDTRAINING IN NEPAL

WoolProducers is sponsoring trainees for FMD Real Time training in Nepal during 2018.

Training is scheduled for 12-16 March 2018 and 19-23 March 2018 with further training in November 2018.

WoolProducers encourages young people with good networks in particular to get involved in this training but all suitable applicants will be considered – including growers, shearers, agents, transporters, vets and others in the wool supply chain. There is a need for those who have completed the training to be from varied geographic regions.